Message from the 2020 AIAO President

Amy Vohs
AIA Oregon President

AIA Oregon Executive Vice President Search

Every President hopes they can get through their year without any major mishaps, accomplish something to build on past success and set the stage for future growth. Well this year has been an amazing lesson in change and resiliency.  The day many of us anticipated would arrive at some point has come. As you may be aware, Curt Wilson EVP of AIA Oregon took the position to assist the organization to transition to a permanent EVP after Robert Hoffman left the position in July of 2019. While no one looks forward to a job search, my hopes for next year are for a successful process and smooth transition and here is how we plan to make that happen.

We have created an Executive Vice President Search Task Force with representation from the different sections across the state, members who took part in previous transitions and a varied voice with emerging professionals and Firm leaders to get a good representation of AIA Oregon member voices. We have laid out a schedule for the search, created a job description that identifies the role of a state-wide Executive Director/EVP and we are developing selection criteria based on AIA Guides for Equitable Practice Guide 4 on Recruitment and Retention processes. We will be posting the position at the beginning of December with a selection to be made between February and March of 2021.  Lastly, a transition plan will be developed to work through with the selected applicant to insure a smooth transition.

The process to identify our next staff leader should go smoothly. Curt has done a couple of critical things to help make sure that is the case. Firstly, he has been documenting specific procedures that have been used to manage the organization with key documents in a manual to assist the next Executive Director/ Executive Vice President to transition into their role. Secondly, he has given us a schedule for some transition to help coach the new Executive Director on the logistics of AIA Oregon to put them on a path to successful leadership.

Despite all the challenges of 2020, the organization is in good shape - all thanks to Curt’s management. The staff team is strong and highly accomplished. Our budget, while challenged, is supported by healthy reserves and an optimistic future. We have furthered our transition to a single state chapter with leadership from all sections working together. The good stewardship of previous leaders is evident in everything we do and we owe our predecessors a debt of gratitude for leaving us a firm foundation.

The industry, the practice, the political climate and our communities have all changed significantly over the last year and a half since the last time we were in the job market. Our position description will reflect those changes. You can’t replace transformational leaders but you can look for a person who has those qualities and that potential and see where it takes us based on their own unique skills and abilities. When we do it right, this is a once in a generation opportunity.

As the process unfolds, we will keep the membership informed and we hope you will share your thoughts with us as well. Feel free to send comments or questions to info@aiaoregon.org.

Finally, I want to assure all members that while the selection of a new Executive Vice President and a smooth transition will be one of the most important tasks for the Board this coming year, the search process (including the EVP Search Task Force) we have developed will allow us to maintain our focus on our other responsibilities and goals.

Thank you,
Amy Vohs
AIA Oregon President

Message from the Chair of the AIAO Facilities Task Force

Bill Hart, AIA
Former AIA Portland Board director/officer
Chair, AIAO Facilities Task Force

AIA Oregon Facilities Task Force

The Task: To determine the physical presence of AIA Oregon within our state-wide system.

Historically AIA in Oregon has had an organizational structure and governance which is very different than the one we have today.  The new statewide structure of AIA Oregon being under one chapter with five local sections was a format intended to primarily improve and provide a better experience for AIA members.  Our state served as one of the few states that moved in this innovative and transformative direction under guidance from AIA National. The secondary goal would be to support and enhance the improved and sustainable environments for our communities and neighborhoods through community outreach and engagement.

In the past the AIA has had two formal locations to serve the design community.  The (CFA) Center for Architecture in Portland, a 5,000-sf space which has served as a multi-purpose center for AIA Portland offices, education space, conference room and community gathering space.  In Eugene, we have had the Octagon, a 391 sf glass-wrapped space that serves as office, meeting, and display space..  Currently, the AIA Eugene PCA boards are on display and can be viewed from the exterior.

As we consider the transition of the state-wide AIA Oregon, we need to assess and review our facilities to determine if we are truly leveraging our resources.  We would like to provide maximum effectiveness of our efforts and resources, but we need a few things. We need your voices and engagement along the way.  With the assistance of our current EVP, Curt Wilson, we have identified several members to form a state-wide Task Force that represents each geographical section of the state.  I have accepted the request from the AIA Oregon Board to chair the task force.  Collectively, and along with your voices, we will consider our existing spaces in Eugene and Portland and see what the future holds in store.  We will examine the programs and activities along with the expenses of providing these services to consider the financial feasibility and stability of our programs.

As we think about the future it is time to focus on a vision.  What do we want the AIA Oregon to do for its members and the supporting community?  What kind of services and programs do our members desire and require?  What opportunities for support and engagement do we have with our associate partners in associated design fields, engineering, and construction?  How do we systematicly work with our vendors to provide opportunity for social engagement and networking?  These are just a few of the questions as we consider the future. 

While we begin to consider our spatial needs let us focus on our vision of design integrity, support, education, and community engagement on our state-wide system.  While the goal is to have a centralized operational system state-wide, we anticipate and continue to support each section so it is an authentic representation of the local community.  Central to all this effort is your voice in describing and representing a variety of visions.

This is a difficult challenge but the advent of COVID has forced us to move faster than anticipated.  Using technology our profession has been able adopt to virtual meetings and social distancing.  We find ourselves in a temporary condition which has lasted far longer than expected, but it will provide us a memory of a lifetime.  As we move ahead and consider distance learning and virtual meetings, we seek a blending of technology with human interaction.  In the future, when COVID has receded away, we will not return to the old ways.  I believe there will be a blending of many forms of communication and engagement.  The comfort of working from home (WFH) will combine with an occasional visit to the office for collaboration and creativity which we all relish. 

How does this all work?  We do not have all the answers, but a few of us have some thoughts about solutions.   Some things we would like to share with you to “get the conversation started”.  To initiate discussion on how we all stimulate our colleagues to continue to promote quality design.  To challenge us to mentor and encourage the next and future generations of architects and designer.  To fully engage and participate in the education of our communities about their role in making our environments sustainable and healthy for all of us.  We need you to get “out of the box” and explore how our industry can effectively leverage our resources to enhance our contribution to our entire communities.

An immediate goal of the task force is to develop recommendations to the AIA Oregon Board for our occupancy of the CFA.  The original construction loan will be paid off in the middle of 2022 and our current lease expires at the end of 2021. 

The topic of the 12/4 Virtual Happy Hour is an overview of the Facilities Task Force goals and process, and an open discussion about how we may use space in a post-Covid world, which will give any member the opportunity to comment on spatial needs.  Register Here to participate.

If you would like to be a participant on this journey, please contact Curt Wilson, AIA at cwilson@aiaoregon.org with your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.

Join us.  We welcome your voice.

Message from the AIAO Public Policy Consultant

Cindy Robert
AIAO Public Policy Consultant

Oregon General Election Results 

 No great election surprises in Oregon. Senator Shemia Fagan (D) beat Senator Kim Thatcher (R) in the race for the Secretary of State, Treasurer Tobias Read (D) was reelected to a second term, our US Senators and Congressional members remain the same, though with Congressman Walden’s decision to retire, Cliff Bentz (R) will replace him in DC.

In the legislature, the Democrats retained super-majority control of the Oregon Senate and House. But, ultimately, Democrats were unable to pick up the seats needed to assure a quorum-proof body in either the House or Senate (the walkouts in last two sessions were tools used by Republicans to halt action as the Oregon Constitution requires a 2/3 quorum to conduct business). So Democrats can pass tax increases without Republican buy in, but can’t convene for business in either body without Republicans showing up.  The tactics of the Republicans in the 2019 and 2020 sessions weigh heavily on the legislative leaders as they plan for the 2021 session.  Will we see a less aggressive agenda?   Time will tell.

In the Senate, Democrats in the majority lost a south coast seat but gained one in Salem to retain control and remain at 18 Democrats and 12 Republicans.

In the House, Democrats in the majority lost south and north coast seats and Republicans lost a seat in Bend, leading to a net of one Republican seat and new numbers of 37 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

All of our statewide ballot measures passed so the path is paved for campaign contribution caps, cigarettes will be taxed higher and be joined by e-cigarettes and vaping devices, psilocybin mushrooms are legal in therapeutic settings, and some hard drug crimes are decriminalized and addiction recovery centers are funded.

The AIA Oregon Legislative Affairs Committee, lead by co-Chair Kim Olson, AIA and EVP Curt Wilson, AIA are planning for the 2021 session, which will be unprecedented due to social distancing measures.  The LAC is working with ACEC Oregon (American Council of Engineering Companies) on a bill to limit the impact of Duty to Defend clauses in contracts, we remain in close contact with the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners on potential changes to statute, and we are paying close attention to the status of leadership at the Building Codes Division and how that might impact the implementation of the Governors Executive Order 20-04 to increase the minimum energy performance requirements in the code through 2030.

The LAC Steering Committee will be providing an update on the 2021 session preparation at a Zoom event on Thursday, 12/3 at 5:00.  Follow this link to learn more and register.